Growing up, every child seemed to have had one thing in common: their unwavering belief.

Santa, the tooth fairy, and monsters that live under beds all made perfect sense to a six-year-old. Now, these six-year-olds are eighteen and graduating high school in less than a week.

What did these seniors use to believe in?

For Ella Milanovich, her faith was in Santa Claus. “I would always watch the Santa tracker and think about Santa coming, and I mean, now I still kinda do that, but it’s not the same,” she says.

Milanovich continues her thoughts: “It had always been something that my family had done and Santa always came on Christmas Eve and my sister and I were always super excited about it.”

Kenley Whittaker is another senior who had strong beliefs as a kid. She recalls believing in another seasonal mascot. “The Easter Bunny, for sure. How else did the eggs get there?” 

“It wasn’t my mom she said she didn’t put the eggs there, it wasn’t my dad, he said he was at work the entire time right,” Whittaker says, sharing her thought process as a kid. “It was obviously the Easter Bunny.”

Like most things, there is an ending. So, these childhood beliefs eventually lost believers.

“In fourth grade, one of the girls in my class told me that Santa wasn’t real,” Milanovich says, sharing the harsh reality of real life. 

Kenley Whittaker had less of an abrupt stop to her beliefs. “I think developing just common sense and how my friends didn’t quite have the same experiences made me stop believing. And how would a bunny hide thousands of eggs?”

While these seniors might not believe in the things they did as children, is there hope that their faith will be renewed soon?

“No, I mean, I believe in Christmas magic and Christmas spirit and miracles, but I don’t think I’ll believe in Santa again,” Ella states, bringing unfortunate news to Santa.

Kenley Whittaker also brings sad news to the Easter bunny: “No, I don’t think I’ll believe in the easter bunny, but I will gaslight my children into believing so that they find eggs because it’s more fun that way.”

Whittaker concludes by stating: “We all wish we were children again.” And wow, isn’t that true?

As the seniors have grown up and outgrown their beliefs, looking back at the past is always fun. Although Santa and the Easter Bunny have lost some followers, there will always be new things to believe in.